Copenhagen

Clearly you'll find a place friendlier if you visit a friend there. I'm intrigued by what you were impressed by though.

I was impressed by Freiburg for example. A busy university town with affordable places to eat. Plenty going on in the evening if that's your thing, bike paths and lanes everywhere, you can walk straight into the Black Forest from the city centre in 15 minutes, there are eco-quarters with no cars, windmills on the hils around, solar panels in every direction you look, bike shops, the usual German high street shops, friendly people, brothels should you seek more than friendship. A joy for life that seems absent in Copenhagen.

Nice bars & cafe's, architecture, museums, being able to wander through a city and browse and feel relaxed. We spent 2 days walking in the snow taking photos, looking in shops, visiting cafe's and having a great time. Didn't go searching for Solar Panels & Brothels, Solar panels may be a little wasted with all the snow and grey and I had the missus with me

We only spent part of the time with friends and rest solo. The people in the city were friendly, happy and getting on with life in a cold climate.

Both the actual Design museum and Design Centre (the one near Tivoli) I though were great. Tivoli - not my thing though. A swim at the Islands Brygge open air pool* and a meal at the little cultural centre nearby were nice non touristy things to do. Sea kayaking with the Kayak Rupublic* company was also a highlight as were early morning runs and generally drooling at the seemingly effortlessly beautiful people. The ability to temporarily suspend one's understanding of the value of money is a definate bonus!

I don't know who expects Christiana to be some kind of idyll or heaven. Certainly not the people who live there - their displays and historical materials make it clear that the "social experiment" was far from easy or always pleasant.

Is there any city in Europe that doesn't have brothels? Certainly they weren't too hidden when I was reeling around CPH, drunk.

Christiania... better than Amsterdam. just don't run or take any (and i mean ANY!) photos.

I was impressed by Freiburg for example. A busy university town with affordable places to eat. Plenty going on in the evening if that's your thing, bike paths and lanes everywhere, you can walk straight into the Black Forest from the city centre in 15 minutes, there are eco-quarters with no cars, windmills on the hils around, solar panels in every direction you look, bike shops, the usual German high street shops, friendly people, brothels should you seek more than friendship. A joy for life that seems absent in Copenhagen.

i spent a long weekend in Freiburg with a mate who used to study there. it is perhaps one of the coolest towns/cities that i have ever been to.

surrounded by hills with between 200-500m of gain, some awesome trails - both natural and sculptured (one trail, Borderline, is said to be one of Germany's best - it is pretty good!), so many people there rides bikes. we went to a bar and lined up outside were bikes. proper bikes with knobbly tyres. everyone there seems to ride and talks about riding.

the old town is indeed lovely and very pretty (it stands out when compared to other German market towns which are also generally very pretty) and there are lots of parks, too.

i'd move there in a flash if the GF was to find work there.

i'd never consider moving to Augsburg. full of inbreds and they talk funny. the Schwabs.